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Complete description of the selected organ
Source: Postcard.

Source: Postcard

Huntsville TX, USA (Texas) - Sam Houston Memorial Museum
Municipal: Huntsville TX
Region:Walker County
Address: 1836 Sam Houston Avenue, 77340, Huntsville, TX
Website: https://samhoustonmemorialmuseum.com/

Description nr.: 2078388.

Built by: M.P. Möller Company (ca. 1888) - opus 139

YearBuilderOpusActivity
ca. 1888 M.P. Möller Company139 new organ
1894 M.P. Möller Company  transfer/relocate
1914 L. Von Hofe  maintenance/reparations
1915 L. Von Hofe  restoration
ca. 1925 Builder unknown  transfer/relocate
1959 Hoffmann Pipe Organs  restoration
2007 Loper Pipe Organ Service Company  new organ in old case

  • The Sam Houston Memorial Museum in Huntsville, Texas, houses a pipe organ that is believed to be the oldest organ west of the Mississippi. It was built around 1888 by M.P. Möller as opus 139. In 1894 it was placed in Huntsville in the chapel of the State Normal Institute. It is a two-manual organ with eighteen registers. In 1914 a wind engine was installed by L. Von Hofe. Von Hofe repaired the organ a year later, as it had been damaged by a storm.
  • The organ was transferred to Saint Stephen's Episcopal Church in the 1920s, where it was in use until 1940. The church building was sold that year to the Assembly of God, who did not use the instrument. From 1940 to 1958 it was in storage in the Carriage House on the grounds of the Sam Houston Museum. In 1958 the organ was restored by Otto Hoffmann and placed in the museum. It was returned to service on February 16, 1959. On this occasion it was played by Thomas Oliphint, organist of Saint Luke's Episcopal Church in Beaumont. The organ is in its original condition except for the wind motor.
  • After many years a new restoration was necessary. This was in 2006-2007 by Loper Pipe Organ Service. The organ was put back into use on August 3, 2007. It was played by Charlotte Tull.

Short list of all locations the organ has been
1894Huntsville, TXState Normal Institute Chapel
ca. 1925?Huntsville, TXSaint Stephen's Episcopal Church
1959Huntsville, TXSam Houston Memorial Museum


Literature The Pipe Organ / Erin Cassidy. - In: Newton Gresham Library Musings from Sam Houston's Stomping Grounds, Episode 44, October 1, 2009.
Links https://library.shsu.edu/about/podcasts/transcripts/Musings_Organ_20091001.pdf